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Welcome to….
OBE-118Legal Environment of
Business!!!
Professor John A. McKinsey
Fall 2004, Section 10, Tuesday Evenings
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• Office Hours (TAHOE-2054)– Tuesday 5:00 to 5:45 PM– Thursday 9:00 to 9:45 AM– or by appointment
• E-Mail– mckinsey@csus.edu– Put “OBE118” in the subject header for faster response
• Telephone– CSUS Office (916) 278-7030
Finding Your Professor
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– Legal Environment Beatty, Samuelson, 2nd Edition
– Some handouts– Class Website
www.csus.edu/indiv/m/mckinsey– At the website you will find edited versions of
the lectures for you to download/ review/print/etc.
Text and Resources
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John McKinsey
- Full-time lawyer in Sacramento law firm. I specialize in the regulation of business.
- CSUS graduate
- Former nuclear power plant operator
- Why do I teach?
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Course Summary- Learning Goals
– Substantive law– Legal Reasoning– Relationship of law to business– Process of law– Critical thinking– Writing– Speaking
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Course Summary- Assessment
Exams
75%
Quizz-es
25%
Participation ??? (up to a full letter grade)
(See page 4 of syllabus)
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Exams
• Multiple choice questions• Sometimes short analysis questions• Exams increase in weight as semester goes on
(90, 100, 110 points)• You will need a Scantron form 882 for exams• Tests can include anything assigned for reading or
discussed in class
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Quizzes
• All quizzes are short and worth 10 points
• Twelve scheduled quizzes
• Bring a Scantron quizstrip to every class
• Best ten quiz scores count for total possible 100 points
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Reading Assignments
- See syllabus for course coverage- I do not tend to fall behind
This Week:
-Chap 1: 3, 5-17
-Chap 2: 27-28
Next Week:
-Chapter 4
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Succeeding in this Class• Read and attempt to understand concepts before
each class (Before class)• Use slides to make note taking in class more
effective (During class)• After class (within 48 hours) review reading and
lecture notes and make outline, etc that puts it all together (After class)
• Test yourself via groups or on your own and use results to conduct further studying (Between lecture and exam)
• Review before exam (Before exam)
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What is “The Law”?
- Rules of permissible conduct, limits on allowable conduct
- Not the same as a moral limit or rule, but is supposed to be reflective of morals and
ethics- But we all know there are many things that
you can do, but should not do.
The Law Ethics
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Role of Law in Business
The ways in which the law affects business are as numerous as the number of laws themselves
Enron, Worldcom, Tyco (Business structure)
The McDonald’s coffee spill (Torts)
Grace Inc. and “A Civil Action” (Environmental)Limit of VOC content in underarm deodorant (Product regulation)
Employees not paid overtime (Employment law)
Customer refuses to pay (Contracts)
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Types of Legal Situations
Transactional
Situational
Negotiation of contracts, purchases etc.
(these tend to occur in more informal settings)
Reactionary events such as claims made by someone else against you or you against them.
(these tend to occur in more formal settings such as law suits, criminal accusations, etc.)
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Types of Law- Nature
Substantive Law vs Procedural Law
Defines rights and duties
Explains how to make the law work
Ex: “You may not drive greater than the posted speed limit”
Ex: “To challenge a traffic citation you must pay the established bail amount by the deadline and indicate that you require a hearing”
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English Common Law
U.S. Constitution
State #1 Constitution
State #2 Constitution
Individual or Business
Federal Courts
Congress Executive Branch
State Courts
State Leg
State Exec
State Courts
State Leg
State Exec
Agencies Agencies
Agencies
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Types of Law- Source
• Constitutions
• Statutes
• Cases or Court Orders
• Regulations
• Ordinances / Codes
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Defining the Law
• Some law is “black letter”• Most law is very ambiguous and hard to pin
down– Court interpretations of statutes – “precedent”– Ethical interpretations– Tradition and practice of police, courts and
agencies– Case law or “common law”
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Cases
• Cases flesh out and define black letter law as well as create law of their own
• When reading a case, what things should you look for that tell you the importance and relevance of the case?
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Jurisprudence, or “What is Law?”
Legal Positivism
Natural Law
Legal Realism
“Law is what the sovereign says it is.”
Decisions stand, regardless of morality.
“An unjust law is no law at all and need not be obeyed.”
Laws must have a good moral basis.
“Enforcement of the law is more important than the law itself.”
Enforcers determine if the law is applied in a fair and consistent way.
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Applying the Law
• Begin with black letter law
• Evaluate the moral situation• Apply the moral pressure against the strength of the
law1) The less clear the black letter law, the more likely moral standard determines outcome.
2) The stronger the moral conviction the more likely moral standard determines outcome.
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What Standard???
Questions
• Can a judge use his or her own standard?• Must a judge go against his or her own belief?
• Does it matter if the judge is elected? Does it matter if the judge proclaimed the particular belief?
• What limits legislature?• What limits the majority?
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Overview of this Course
Introduction, Defining Law
Types of Law Forums Where Law is Applied
Torts Contracts
Product Liability
Secured Transactions
Employment Law
Bankruptcy
Property
Business Organizations
Some substantive
areas we get to
sample
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Next Week: Types of law• Read this week’s and next week’s assignment• Go to my website and start using the lecture slides
available there.• Compare this week’s reading to my lecture and
make some type of complete outline/ overview/ etc of this introductory topic.
• Be prepared for a quiz on Chapter 4 (scantron quizstrip).
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